Large Community Projects

Approximately one-third of an Auction & Rummage Sale net proceeds are allocated to the Rotary Club’s Large Community Projects Fund. Money in this fund can accumulate from year to year, while the Club’s Community Projects Committee searches for projects that will have a significant impact on the Bainbridge Island community. Thus, the Club’s contribution to a community project could range from less than $100,000, to much more. In some cases, we team with other organizations to help fund and/or complete a project. In evaluating projects, the Large Community Projects Committee considers the following:

Does it serve the Bainbridge Island community as a whole?

Is there community support for the project?

Is there at least one Club member who is willing to take a leadership role in the project?

The first Rotary Auction was held in 1960 to raise money to buy land for the Bainbridge Island Public Library. Not only did this mark the beginning of a unique and revered community event, it also represented the first instance when the event’s revenues were used to support a major community project. Over the past 57 years, money from the Large Community Projects Fund has been used to help fund a wide variety of projects that have vastly improved the quality of life on Bainbridge Island. These projects include:

Purchasing land, facilities, and equipment for numerous parks and the Park District, such as:

Rotary Field Park – 1962, 2013 and 2015

Funding a ballot measure to create the Bainbridge Island Park District – 1965

Eagledale Park – purchase land – 1968

Strawberry Park:

Purchase land – 1968

Facility improvements – 1971

Addition of restroom facilities and Pee Wee field – 1989

Rotary Skate Bowl – 2001

Fort Ward State Park Boat Launch Ramp – 1972

Pritchard Park – 2003

Rotary Centennial Park – 2005

Bainbridge Aquatic Center:

Ray Williamson Pool – 2002

Don Nakata Pool – 2004

Battle Point Park:

Ritchie Observatory Building – 1990

Kids Up Playground – 2001

Transmitter Building – 2004

2 new Soccer Fields – 2008

A movable stage for the Park District – 2009

The Waypoint – 2012

Owen’s Playground – 2015

Additional support for the Bainbridge Island Public Library, such as:

Furnishings for the Library – 1961

Remodeling the Library – 1981

Funding to help double the size of the Library – 1996

Refresh, Revitalize and Renovate Project – 2016

Other funded projects included:

Bainbridge Island Historical Museum

Move school building to current site – 1969 & 1970

Repair of building and heating system

Reference Library – 2003

Bainbridge Island Commons – Help with construction cost – 1994

Helpline House Storage Facility – 1989 and 1992

Boys and Girls Club help with construction cost – 2006

WWII Nikkei Internment and Exclusion Memorial – 2003

Children’s Museum – Improvements – 2003

Island Wood – 4th Sleeping Lodge – 2008

West Sound Wildlife Shelter – install and improvements to donated building – 2008

Purchase of a new medical aid vehicle for the Fire Protection District – 1987